POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (January 20, 2016) — The Vassar College women's basketball team (3-10, 1-4 Liberty) will embark on a three-game stretch with stops at Rochester Institute of Technology, William Smith College and Bard College. The Brewers face the Tigers in Rochester first for a 6 p.m. game on Friday before playing the Herons in Geneva on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Game Details
Opponent: at Rochester Institute of Technology (11-4, 4-2 Liberty)
Links:
(Vassar's Women's Basketball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
(RIT Women's Basketball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Rochester, NY
Facility: Clark Gym
Date: January 22, 2016
Time: 6 p.m.
Coverage: (Live Stats)

Opponent: at William Smith College (4-9, 2-3 Liberty)
Links:
(Vassar's Women's Basketball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
(WS Women's Basketball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Geneva, NY
Facility: Bristol Gym
Date: January 23, 2016
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday
Coverage: (Live Stats) - (Live Video)

What To Look For
The Brewers look to get back on track after dropping their past two games in close competition. Vassar fell, 61-54, to Skidmore College on Friday, but turned around to make it an even closer game, 63-61, in a loss the next day to Union College. Senior Colleen O'Connell (Maywood, NY/Immaculate Heart Academy) poured in a season-best 19 points, and on the defensive end, she was one shy of her season-high seven rebounds. Vassar never trailed by more than two points in the first half, but couldn't fully overcome a 17-9 run in the third quarter.

A Look At The RIT Tigers (11-4, 4-2 Liberty)
RIT most recently beat William Smith, the other team Vassar will face this weekend, 82-78, on Tuesday. The win broke a two-game losing skid against Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University. On Tuesday, the Herons led after the first quarter, but the Tigers either matched or outscored them in the final three periods. Tara Lynch scored a game- and career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to boot. Jessica Glaz added 15 points and Cori Okada chipped in 10 off the bench. In a game that featured five ties and eight lead changes, RIT took the lead for good with 16 seconds remaining.
RIT leads the conference in scoring, averaging 72.4 points per contest. The Tigers have been consistent with the three-ball to average a conference-best 33.6 percent from beyond the arc. They're also right behind St. Lawrence in 3-pointers made per game with 6.7.  RIT has the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio at .98 (234:240). Two Tigers are within the Top 7 in conference scoring: Tara Lynch (5^th, 15.9 points per game) and Jessica Glaz (7^th, 15.1) have been consistent from the floor. Lynch leads the conference with her 53.3 field goal percentage, and Glaz leads with her 37.2 three-point field goal percentage. 

Against RIT All-Time
The Brewers are 8-0 against the Tigers since meeting for the first time in 2012. Most recently, Vassar routed RIT, 60-49, on Feb. 13, 2015. Caitlin Drakeley  (Woodbury, CT/Nonnewaug) scored a game-high 23 points, going 7-of-7 from the line, as one of three Brewers to score in double figures. 

A Look At the William Smith College Herons (4-9, 2-3 Liberty)
The Herons' losing skid hit three when they lost to the Tigers 82-78 on Tuesday. Prior to those three losses, the Herons enjoyed their longest winning streak so far this season, winning three games against Ithaca College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Skidmore College. In the loss on Tuesday, Melanie Patterson posted her first-career double-double with 15 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. Two other Herons compiled career bests in the loss: Olivia Hughes scored a career-high 18 points with four 3-pointers and Kendra Quinn-Moultrie added a career-best 15 points. The Herons took a 37-35 lead into halftime and scored 11 unanswered points in the third quarter to run their lead to 10, but the Tigers wouldn't go away, ultimately winding up with the win. 
William Smith is ranked last of nine teams when it comes to scoring defense, allowing an average of 71.1 points to opponents. The Herons have consistently battled on the boards, grabbing a conference-best 46.4 rebounds per game, while holding opponents to a League-low 29.8 per game. Two Herons are within the Top 6 when it comes to rebounding: Gabrielle Eure has grabbed an averaged 10.2 for third place, while Mia Morrison averages 7.8 for sixth. Patterson is second in the conference with an averaged four assists per contest. Although the Herons hold the second-worst free throw percentage (64.6), Patterson leads the League with her 81.3 percent from the line.

Against William Smith All-Time
Since meeting for the first time in 1996, the Brewers are 5-31 against the Herons. Vassar has taken two of the past three meetings, winning 81-70 in the semifinals Feb. 26, 2014 and 53-43 on Feb. 14, 2015. Caitlin Drakeley scored 17 points to go along with five assists and three steals in the most recent contest. 

Super Senior
Senior captain Colleen O'Connell has started the past six games for Vassar, and the offense has benefitted. Saturday against Union College, the forward poured in a season-best 19 points. She also contributed on the defensive end, grabbing one shy of her season-high seven rebounds. 

Double-Digit Drakeley
Senior Caitlin Drakeley has scored in double figures in seven of her past eight games, most recently chipping in with 12 points in Saturday's game against Union. The guard is averaging 11.8 points, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. In Vassar's most recent games against this week's opponents, RIT and William Smith, Drakeley led the team in scoring. 

Shoot The Moon
Senior Alex Moon (Mission Hills, CA/Bishop Alemany) has taken care of the ball well since being inserted as a starter seven games ago. Moon has had a positive assist-to-turnover ration in all but two games in the New Year, including handing out a career-high eight helpers at Clarkson. The guard is third in the conference with 3.7 assists per game.

Hands In The Air
Scoring in college women's basketball is down, but not for sophomore wing Ariella Rosenthal (Mill Valley, CA/Redwood), who is averaging nearly 19 points in the past four contests. She is now seventh in the Liberty League averaging 14.9 points per game.

Lucky 7
The Brewers chalked up 70 points in a game for the first time Jan. 12 in a win against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute since March 8, 2014 in a 72-71 loss to the University of Scranton in the NCAA Tournament. The scoring output snapped a 35-game stretch of not getting into the 70s.

C'Mon Stripes!
This season, Vassar is ranked 418 out of 420 NCAA Division III teams in free throw attempts, taking just 184 on the season.

Let's Take A Trip To Swat Town
The block party continues to fill up for senior Rose Serafini (Milton, ON/Milton District), as she ranks 26^th nationally in blocks per game with 2.85. With that, the Brewers are first in the Liberty League with 4.23 blocks per game.

Glass Cleaners
The Brewers have won the battle of the boards in their past eight games by a margin of 351-255. Rose Serafini leads the battle with a team-high 98 rebounds for a 7.5 average. 

Board Buddies
Vassar College is one of only three teams in the conference (Union and RIT are the other two) with three players in the top 18 of rebounding stat leaders within the League. Rose Serafini(7^th, 7.5), Caitlin Drakeley (10th, 6.8), and Ariella Rosenthal (18^th, 5.4) qualify as the three.

Up Next
The Vassar College women's basketball team wraps up its three-game road swing Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Bard College before heading home for five games.